Microsoft Poised to Take on Amazon in Mobile Payments-Powered Self-Checkout

When Amazon Go came out, it was a concept that people were more than happy to pay attention to. A store without cashiers, where you could just walk in, get what you wanted, and pay as you walked out, automatically, via a mobile payments interface was a futuristic thrill, even if it had been kind of predicted since 2006 with IBM’s “The Future Market” ad. Now, new reports suggest that Microsoft is entering the fray itself.

The current word says Microsoft is actively working on a system that would track items placed in a shopping cart, then allow the items to be paid for later. It’s already held demonstrations of these systems, and word is that Microsoft has even called in Walmart on a potential collaboration effort. How it works is still unclear, but reports suggest cameras in shopping carts is one potential solution, especially when tied into a smartphone.

With Microsoft currently lagging Amazon in cloud services provision, and Amazon Go locations poised to open in San Francisco and Chicago next, there’s little doubt that Microsoft will want a piece of the cashierless checkout market. Given that Gene Munster of Loup Ventures is already calling for a $50 billion market in cashierless checkout just in the United States, Microsoft can ill afford to let Amazon run free in this market unchecked.

Microsoft does indeed need a piece of this market. Retailers are likely eager to shuffle at least some of their cashiers onto the unemployment line; there’s still a lot to be said for the personal experience, but it only goes so far, especially when dealing with simple commodity goods. That’s going to call for real investment, especially in the early stages, as stores will need to retool accordingly. Mobile payments will likely also take on a healthy jump here, because there will need to be a way to pay for this stuff and who’s taking money any more?

There will likely need to be some cashiers in play to handle the cash trade; no business could afford to eschew cash trade forever. But in the meantime, there’s a nice packet of business up for grabs, and it remains to be seen who will take the pot home.